Anyone with a lathe willing to make something for me?

[Motorcitydak]

I know that this is really not advanced tech but i figured that guys who check this area of the site out would be more likely to be able to help here. I need 2 simple sleeves made up for the push rod front suspension im building. All i really need are 2 tubes with a 9/16 OD and would prefer a 1/2 bore but 7/16 would be fine too if the wall was way too thin. These will have a bolt pass thru them so they will not be unsupported. Length will be somewhere between 1.5-2.0 inches, not sure the exact length yet. Material, would prefer stainless steel so it will not rust. To give you an idea of what I need, the sleeves will go in the needle bearings of the rockers at the frame mount (pictured below). I need sleeves so I can properly tighten the bolts without causing drag on the rocker. I plan on finding some bronze thrust washers to put between the 6061 rocker and the 1018 frame bracket that I have yet to build. Please PM me or reply here if you can help, ill obviously pay to have this done and would greatly appreciate the help!

[parsonsj]

I've got some .563 (9/16) x .065 wall 4130 tube. OD of .563, ID of .433. No lathe required.

[Motorcitydak]

Rite.....my bad, never thought to check if something off the shelf would exactly fit my specs. I used 3/4 120 wall DOM once to put a 1/2 inch bolt thru.....once. Way too much slop for me. I want this to fit perfectly which is why i figured it would have to be machined. I found 316 stainless tube with 0.5625 OD and a 0.4325 ID. I guess I can run a drill bit thru it if necessary but would a 7/16 bolt fit thru that or does that 0.0050 really matter?

[dontlifttoshift]

If you are going through a needle bearing, doesn't the shaft/sleeve need to be hardened to prefent the bearing from eating away at your sleeve?

[BuzzKillian]

I would try your bolt first... they are usually small about .005 on the threads anyway. If your bolt has a shoulder, it probably won't fit.

If you want to open it up... I would use a reamer instead of a drill bit. Drills tend to grab when trying to cut such a small amount and don't cut very round.

It will be easier to hold the tube if you ream it out before you cut it to length.

[BuzzKillian]

If you are going through a needle bearing, doesn't the shaft/sleeve need to be hardened to prefent the bearing from eating away at your sleeve?

That's a good point, 316 stainless is probably not hard enough for that.

[exwestracer]

We use 3/4" X .120 wall DOM tubing for that sort of thing all the time. If it's riding on bearings, make sure the sleeve is long enough to have a slight "crush" between the mounts. Then the fit on the bolt is not an issue.

[Bryce]

If you are going through a needle bearing, doesn't the shaft/sleeve need to be hardened to prefent the bearing from eating away at your sleeve?

That's a good point, 316 stainless is probably not hard enough for that.

Yes, otherwise you will get excess wear on the tube... I would suggest a hardened alloy steel shoulder bolt with the correct length shoulder.

[MonzaRacer]

Couldnt 316 be sent out and hardened and what about taking a light crank polish to the bolt if 0.005 make the difference? Just thinking like a guy without a lot of funds? Some machine shops send stuff out for hardening every week.

[Bryce]

Yes it could be sent out, but the rockwell hardness would be around 50 and for bearings you need to up around 60 to 70. You could always chrome plate something. or even nitride the surface...

[Texas Hotrod]

It wasn't Camaro related, but I was working on rear shock pivots for a bike project.
I purchased needle bearing cages that came w/hardened center inserts.
The bolt hole ID was 1/2".
I'm sure bigger/wider parts are available.

I get my bearings/hardware from Purvis Bearing in San Antonio.
http://www.purvisindustries.com/pbs.html

Not sure if you can adapt, but needle bearings in bike bell-cranks are quite wide/beefy......

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HONDA-CR125-...item43aa12c83a

Can't beat the $99 price for a shock and linkage.
Just have to figure out the correct travel ratio and hope the spring is correct.............

http://www.ebay.com/itm/99-Honda-CR1...item27b9adc16e


I like where you're going.
Looks very interesting to me............

[Motorcitydak]

Thanks for the reply's guys. I looked into those shoulder bolts but i never saw one in 9/16. I sort of have to keep that bolt size because it worked out perfectly for what I am building. I wanted to use 3/8 thick bar for the arms of the rockers. That gave me the perfect 3/4 inch spacing for the rod end and also the 1.5 inch spacing for the coilover at the other side plus it is what i feel comfortable for its strength. The needle bearings were only available in the 3/4x3/4 with a 9/16ID. I asked if there was something with a 1/2ID yet still the 3/4 width but no luck there.

[Motorcitydak]

I started looking around for a bearing that would have an inner and outer race. I found some sealed ball bearings with a .75OD, .5 ID but the widest one was under .2 that I have found. I did come across these tho, that do you guys think if i ran them instead of a bearing?

http://www.bocabearings.com/bearing-...00x07500x06250

They are .125 too narrow since I would use .750 wide but I can keep looking plus these have a flange so I would not need to have a separate thrust washer like I was going to get. I can they just put either a grade 5 or 8 1/2 inch bolt thru it and move on to the next issue that needs solving with this car/exercise

edit: or these which are 1 inch wide

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Oilite-Flang...#ht_504wt_1185

[Texas Hotrod]

For hardware tools and?
I usually hit McMaster.

Just a hint of what they have.
Take your pick..................

http://www.mcmaster.com/#linear-roll...arings/=g0wafg

http://www.mcmaster.com/#bushing-bearings/=g0wf02

http://www.mcmaster.com/#graphite-sa...arings/=g0wgh4

http://www.mcmaster.com/#wear-bearings/=g0whq8

[Motorcitydak]

Oooooooo, those graphite ones sound awesome! Thanks a lot! I (again) forgot to check McMaster....someday Ill stop doing that. Anyone see a problem that Im not if I use those? I think ill order those

I looked into those bearings from the motorcycles, guess I should go tear my GSX-R apart and steal the shock rocker LOL. Wish they were not all metric but I think now that you posted all those bushings, ill go that way

[hotrod56]

I am doing the same thing. I checked with another member of this forum who is a bearing specialist. He stated that ball bearings are not a good idea for this application. He suggested delrin bushings.

I found them here: http://www.kartek.com/Product/Fabric...ushingCom.html

They are hard to find. Received them, and they are perfect for this application.

[exwestracer]

I am doing the same thing. I checked with another member of this forum who is a bearing specialist. He stated that ball bearings are not a good idea for this application. He suggested delrin bushings.

I found them here: http://www.kartek.com/Product/Fabric...ushingCom.html

They are hard to find. Received them, and they are perfect for this application.

I used these on my supermodified front suspension: http://www.timken.com/en-us/products...CupRoller.aspx